Stopper.



T. C. SPELLING.

" STOPPER.

ICA

} APP Yl8,l9l6- 1,1 6,1?7, Patented Feb.13,1917.

THOMAS C. SPELLING, OF NEW YORK, 1\T. Y.

STOTEPER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented ll eb. i3, 191?.

Application filed July 18, 1916. Serial No. 189,923.

To all whom it may concern: I

Be it known that I, THOMAS C. SrnLLINe, a citizen,- of the United States, and a resident of New York city, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Stoppers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in stoppers made of cork, or other yieldable substance, and has for a main object the provision of a stopper which may be readily extracted, unimpaired, to enable repeated use of the same, and to eliminate the or dinary and necessary use of the implement known as a corkscrew orthe like, with its attending liability to tear or break and con sequently destroy the stopper as an effective sealing agent for bottles or other containers of liquids, in subsequent use. i

The purpose is accomplished by the com bination of two parts, namely, a shell or ex ternal, and a core or internal, part and a small wire or metal band, placed around the core, crossed or bent upon itself in a crosswise trench at one end of the core and so twisted upon itself as to form a loop at the other endof the core. The combined action of these, supplemented by the presence of glue or other adhesive, as hereinafter described, upon the application of outward pressure, is effective to accomplish the extraction of the stopper, free of the difliculty found to exist in most other attempts to overcome the tendency of wires whether placed crosswise or anchored, to cut their way out, leaving the mutilated stopper in place, upon strong pressure being applied, due to the well known peculiarities of cork and similar substances. These peculiarities necessitate the distribution of force applied to the removal of the stopper over a considerable surface, to overcome passivity at every point and in every direction, and the necessity is met by this invention.

To facilitate a full and complete understanding of the invention, I will illustrate the preferred embodiment of the same, to gether with an additional, or modified, embodiment thereof, and the details in the arrangement and combination of parts will be appreciated from a reading of the specified description hereinafter contained, in connection with the accompanying drawings forming a part thereof, wherein said embodiments are illustrated.

In the drawings, Figure l is a vertical sectional view through a bottle neck and stopper, showing my improvement as origi nally inserted therein; Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the parts thereof assembled apart from the stopper, with a cap in place. The loop may be depressed, or rather bent downwardly into a cavity presently to be again referred to, in the formation of the trenches on the top, the bottom and sides. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the assembled parts exhibiting in detail the circular shoulder formed on the core. Fig. 4: is a perspective view of the core showing the extremities of the wings of the cap in place beneath the rim of a bottle neck, and the crossing and locking of the ends of the wire on one end of the core. Fig. 5 is the original form of the well, in detail.

Referring more specifically to the drawings, wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts in the several views, A represents a cork stopper of usual formation and conventional shape, although other suitable material and different shapes would be permissible. The cork is provided with the opening B in the cork from the top, as at C, and terminating in the lower portion, as at D, so that said well does not extend to the bottom, but leaves the bottom and sides intact, to the end that the sealing characteristic of the stopper is not lessened. E represents a core conical in form, and made, preferably of wood, though it may be of metal or other hard substance, shaped and designed to fit tightly into said well. At F is a swell, or rounded projection forming part of ,said core and extending around it, hereinafter designated as a shoulder being out through on opposite sides at G in the formation of the trench I-I. Said trench extends across the flat portion at both ends, as at I, and is cut through said shouldered parts, as at J. K is the wire or metallic band, previously mentioned. It will be fitted around the core before the latters insertion in the stopper, extending along the trench, twisted around itself or soldered together at L, to form the loop \I. To allow the emplacement of the cap N, the loop may be compressed or folded into the trench or cavity, 0, or it may be permanently fixed in the cap, as here shown.

In use, liquid glue is first injected into the well. In the downward progress of the core, the glue is forced upward along said trenches, along the branches of the Wire, and lodged on the upper face of the shoulder intermediate the parts of the Wire, as Well as around the Wire. Upon becoming dry, the glue forms a hard adhesive as Well as a buffer, preventing the extraction of the core Without simultaneous extraction of the stopper.

The form of a short tapered cork is used in the illustrations. For longer tapered corks, and for straight corks, the core may be lengthened, or the enlargement may be formed relatively nearer the bottom, or the core may present both these characteristics.

lVhile I have herein set forth special embodiments of the invention, it is With the realization,-as Will also appear to persons skilled in the art to which it appertains, that it is capable of embodiment in other forms and devices, as may be in accordance With the claims appended hereto.

I claim:

1. In a stopper of the class described, the combination of a shell of pliable material, shaped to form a side wall and bottom, a solid and rigid core insertible in said Well, said core having an enlarged central portion to have a binding engagement in said shell, said core having channels formed in said enlarged portion thereof, and a binder filling the interstices between said core and shell distributed uniformly While in a plastic state.

2. An article of the class described comprising a stopper of pliable material having an enlarged Well formed therein, leaving a relatively thin side wall and bottom, a solid core insertible into said Well, said core having an enlarged central portion forming tapering ends, said enlarged central portion being of greater cross sectional area than the normal cross sectional area of said Well to cause said core to have a binding engage ment when placed in said Well, an encircling shoulder formed on said enlarged portion of said core, having its flat face upwardly disposed, so that compression of the stop-per upon insertion into the neck of a bottle will compress the substance of the stopper over said shoulder to anchor said core in said Well, said enlarged central portion of said core having channels formed in the opposite sides thereof, a Wire encircling said core in said channels having its upper end formed into a pulling ring, said Wire being fastened over the upper end of said core, a cap about said Wire, over said core having its edges Within the upper end of said Well, and a binding agent and buffer between said core and the Wall of said Well, lodged in said channels in the sides of the enlarged portions of the said core and between said core and the Wall of said Well distributed uniformily in the interstices formed by said core and in said shell.

Signed at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York this 1st day of July A. D. 1916.

THOMAS C. SPELLING.

Witnesses:

MoLLIn QUATENETZ,

J EAN GREENBERG.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). G. 

